Salvage

by Cameron Coral

  I pace my space cabin room so much I must be wearing tracks into the floor. I feel embarrassed and ashamed at the same time.

  Also, I feel bad for Reed. Of course, he wants to understand what's wrong with me. His natural instinct is to help, but there's no helping me. I'm better off on my own and getting back to my mission of hunting down Kenmore.

  I close my eyes, and the image of Lucas’s smirk is seared on the backs of my eyelids. Why did he ask for details about defeating Vance Drem? Did he find out information on me?

  Worse yet, now that Ogre revealed the nanotech inside me, will Lucas convince Reed to lock me up for study?

  All the more reason why Ogre and I need to leave ASAP. I grab my bag and start to pack, but someone raps on the door. The overhead cam flips on and I see Reed waiting with something in his hands. My chest tightens. Is he here to arrest me?

  I don’t answer, but he probably has guest locators to track my whereabouts. I have to face him and hope he’s on my side. I check myself in the mirror, making sure I don’t look as scared as I feel. Only then do I command the door open.

  Reed stands with a sheepish look on his face, holding what looks to be a bowl.

  “What do you want?” I say.

  “Hey. I brought you something.” He raises the bowl; several plump, juicy strawberries rest inside. “A peace offering. I remember how much you loved them when we were at Woodlawn.”

  My mouth waters at the sight of the fruit, and I relax slightly. No handcuffs in sight and no armed guards beside him. “The one time we got them at Woodlawn, it was like a miracle, wasn't it?”

  He chuckles. “Yeah, and I think they were frozen. These are fresh from the biodome.” He offers them.

  I grasp the bowl and pop one of the berries into my mouth. The sweet juice bursts with flavor on my tongue.

  He lingers at the threshold to my room. “May I come in?”

  Hesitating, my instincts scream to send him away, but I can’t resist his kind eyes. I nod for him to come in.

  The door closes behind him, and I’m alone with Reed in my hotel suite. He wears a blue collared shirt and dark jeans. Why is he so damn attractive?

  “I come in peace,” he says with a flourish. “And to apologize again for putting you on the spot, and well... everything that happened with Ogre getting questioned…”

  I say nothing and stare at the floor as a blush creeps up my neck.

  “There's something I have to tell you.” His smile fades and he bites his lip. “When I heard you had a genetically altered ability, well... it got me thinking how I have one too.

  I meet his gaze, curious.

  “Lucas treated my allergies. Made me resistant. That wasn’t the whole story. You remember at Woodlawn how allergic I was to everything? Most people have allergies to pets or pollen, but I was allergic to my own shadow.”

  I remember he constantly blew his nose and had red eyes. Some days he couldn't get out of bed, something he got a lot of shit for from the supervisors and bullies.

  “It became worse as I got older,” he says. “In fact, I used to steal allergy meds from the pharmacies when I ran in Joanie’s gang. I managed, and life was slightly better with the meds. Oh, and I had asthma too, which really sucked.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don't be. When I made it to Space Squad, the recruiters were skeptical about my health. But one officer knew of a new genetic treatment for allergies and asked if I would sign up as a trial volunteer. I visited a building in Manhattan for several treatments of a new vaccine study for allergies. That's when I met Lucas. He worked in the lab.”

  “Obviously, it worked. You seem ridiculously healthy now.”

  “Yeah, it worked and then some. I told you, Lucas literally saved my life. I don't know what would have happened to me without his vaccine.”

  “I'm glad you found him and it worked out,” I force myself to say, recalling Lucas’s smirk and barbed stares. “But what do you mean about an ability?”

  “The nanorobotics changed my skin. My skin is literally stronger and impenetrable to most objects.”

  “Impenetrable?”

  He steps over to the modular desk in the corner and grabs a pen, holding it out to show me. Then he stabs the pen into his forearm, but it’s deflected. “I literally can't be stabbed or pricked with a needle. We've done other tests.”

  “So, your skin is…unbreakable?”

  “Yeah, you could say that. That's my ability.”

  I turn away. This is a lot to take in. I’d always assumed there were other genetic experiments happening—that there could be others like me—and now I’m standing in front of someone with an ability.

  “Lucas realized right away how powerful this was. He tweaked the robotics and perfected the serum so the nanobots keep allergens out, but function like normal skin. But for me, the results were…permanent.”

  “Are you able to feel sensation like a normal person?”

  He approaches and pulls me against him. His gaze makes my stomach do flips. Reed’s eyes scream hunger. “I still feel everything. Ida, I want you.”

  He leans in to kiss me, but I push him away and edge against the wall.

  His eyes widen. “What's wrong?”

  His skin may be strong and resilient compared to most people, but I can't touch him. I'm a killer.

  “Do you have someone else? A boyfriend?” He stares at his feet, shaking his head. “Damn, I knew it. I was too late. Always too late.”

  Now what? Do I make him think I love someone else? That would be the easiest thing to do. The path of least resistance. And in a way it's true…Gatz rises into my consciousness, but I push the thought of him away.

  “Reed, I’m… incredibly flattered you’re interested in me—”

  “It goes well beyond interest.”

  I get dizzy when he says that. “I have a confession, too.”

  “Are you okay? Is it health-related because whatever it is, Lucas and I will find—”

  “Stop, please.” I raise a finger to hush him, careful not to touch him. “It's true what Ogre said. Once, I had the ability to heal people with my touch. In the military, I was a medic, and I saved hundreds of lives.” I fold my arms, wander to the window, and gaze out. “But everything changed when I had to face Vance Drem. Somehow, he changed my power from healing to dangerous.”

  “What do you mean? Dangerous?”

  “I'm responsible for a woman's death—a soldier in Spark City who’d been severely beaten. She was on the brink of dying, and I… pushed her over the edge. I killed her.”

  “That's ridiculous. You said she was nearly beaten to death. Not by you, right?”

  “You don't understand. On the way here, I hurt someone else. It was an accident, but he's either in a coma or dead right now. Just from touching my skin for a second.”

  He's quiet. Outside, storm clouds have rolled in. A light rain starts to fall, and workers and tourists hurry to find shelter.

  “Ida, look at me.”

  I sigh and face him.

  “We'll figure this out.” His eyes brighten, and I can practically see the gears spinning in his mind. “Lucas is the top geneticist in North America. Hell, probably in all the world. He can figure out a way to help you.”

  “Reed, I've come to accept this. I'm not going to hang on to false hope. Lucas could do something and make it worse.”

  “Since this happened to you, you haven't been able to touch anyone? Not even a hug?”

  I flinch and look away.

  “That’s not right. No one should have to live like that,” he says. “You should not have to live like that. Not when Lucas is here.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t want his help.”

  “Why not?”

  Because I don’t trust the jealous prick, I want to scream. “Look, I came here to drop off the mech helmet. I have to go. I need to get to Arizona. There's someone I need to find.”

  “Is it a doctor who can help you?”

 
“I’m looking for a doctor, yes, but…”

  “But what?” He searches my face.

  “Nothing. Don't worry about it.”

  “So that's it? You're just going to give up and accept how you are?”

  “That's my plan right now.”

  “Well I'm not accepting this. You're coming with me right now. We're going to see Lucas.” His jaw clenches with stubborn intensity.

  Reed won't give up on this. I don't believe Lucas can do anything to help change me. Most of all, I don’t trust him. But he's a geneticist. And, a geneticist knows other geneticists. How many could there be?

  “Reed, it’s pointless.”

  “Come with me.” He folds his arms across his chest, widening his stance. “I won’t leave until you do. You’ll have to force me out.”

  I sigh and push down the butterflies in my stomach. He’s not going to back down.

  At least if I go, I can question Lucas about Kenmore.

  “For the record, I think this is a bad idea,” I say as I throw my jacket on.

  Ten

  Reed and I trek side-by-side to the nanobot lab. He's quiet. I don't mind. On the way, I consider what it must’ve been like for him to go from allergy-riddled to suddenly being cured and also impossibly resilient to assault and injury. How has he handled it all these years and kept it secret?

  Just before we enter the lab, I halt. “Wait,” I say. “I'll do this. But only on one condition.”

  He waits, eyebrows raised.

  “You stay away. The less people who know about this, the better. I don't want the others getting suspicious about why you're spending so much time with me.”

  His eyes widen. “But I can help come up with solutions.”

  “You’re not a geneticist, last I checked.”

  “Fair enough,” he says. “But if I find out you didn’t listen to Lucas or properly explain everything to him—”

  “Look, I’m here, right? I’m doing what you want even though I think it’s hopeless.”

  He chews his lip, then says, “You’ve always been a handful,” before raising his palm to the door’s biometric scanner. Inside, the lab is busy. Researchers study holographic models at work stations and a few people huddle inside a conference room.

  I do a double-take as I pass what I thought was a conference room, but actually looks like a rec room with a pool table. Several men and women hold cue sticks, gathered around a tall figure: Ogre, impossible to miss. Laughter fills the room, and Ogre sets up its next shot.

  I don’t like this. The researchers seem harmless, but there’s no telling what questions they’re asking Ogre. I remind myself these are genius-level roboticists.

  I don’t want Ogre here, unsupervised. Don’t treat him like you’re his owner, Lucy’s voice says in my head. She’s the only one who refers to Ogre in masculine terms as if the machine is a person.

  “Hold on,” I say to Reed. “I need a minute.” I stride over to the room and motion for Ogre to join me outside.

  The android sets down its cue stick and obeys. “You’re not happy with me. What did I do wrong now?”

  I have no time for AI moodiness. “Ogre,” I say, keeping my voice even, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m having fun and chatting with the roboticists.”

  Send him away, I think. He could reveal too much, but Ogre is having fun. He’s not a piece of property. “Be careful about what you say. Don’t talk about me, understand?”

  The android gazes from me, back to the room full of curious scientists, then again at me. “Agreed.”

  “Thank you,” I whisper, and Ogre lumbers back to his pool game.

  Meanwhile, Reed’s been waiting patiently. He scans the room and spies Lucas talking to a young woman and sketching a diagram on a holopad. Lucas makes eye contact and Reed summons him over.

  As he strides toward us, he says, “Taking your favorite guest on another tour?”

  Reed doesn’t acknowledge the jab and says, “Can we talk in your office?”

  Lucas’s gaze crosses my face, then he nods and leads us into a small, dimly lit corner office. He shuts the door behind us and approaches a desk cluttered with several devices, including a discarded biocuff with protruding wires that looks as though it’s being dissected, and a strange, silver object I can't identify. It looks like a piece of jewelry.

  “What’s this about?” Lucas opens a drawer and sweeps the contents of the desk into it.

  Reed tilts his head at me. “You heard earlier that Ida has an ability and nanotech. She used to be able to heal wounds, but now, something about her touch... is dangerous.”

  Lucas studies me, eyes squinting behind his glasses. “Fascinating.”

  I fight off an urge to recoil from his stare and instead, straighten. “And this is the part where Reed exits,” I say, glaring at him.

  “She needs you, Lucas.” Reed grasps his shoulders and fixes his gaze on his friend. “You can help her, man. I'm counting on you.” With a last, lingering glance at me, he leaves the two of us alone.

  I lean against the wall and fold my arms across my chest.

  Lucas is the first to break the silence. “Reed wants me to help you, but I don't think that's what you want. What do you want?”

  “Let's cut the bullshit. I need information. The man who made me this way was a doctor. A geneticist like you. His last name is Kenmore. You know him?”

  “Hmmm. Let me think, Kenmore…”

  Is he screwing with me? I swear I saw a glimmer of recognition at the mention of Kenmore’s name, but he hid it well. I can't be sure.

  Lucas rubs his earlobe as he travels over to the wall beside the door and punches a button. A hidden panel slides open, revealing a long, lit counter-space. On it, rest glass terrariums of various sizes. I edge closer and glimpse a turtle and a mouse nestled in containers next to other creatures.

  He retrieves a rolling table that houses what appears to be a powerful microscope. From a small jar, he grasps a slug with forceps and holds it in mid-air. He drops the dark, twisting creature onto a petri dish and sets it under the scope.

  “What’s that for?” I ask, rather disgusted.

  “Ida, humor me and pet this,” he says, blinking. “I'd like to see what happens under the scope.”

  I recoil.

  “Please,” he persists. “I'm a man of science, and I need to understand what's happening when you touch a creature at the nanoscopic level.”

  I stay rooted in place. “Do you know Kenmore?”

  He smirks. “The name rings a bell. I'll tell you more... but only if you stroke this slug.”

  He’s playing me like this is some game. I haven't handled an animal since Vance changed my ability. It’s a freaking slug, I tell myself. What’s there to lose? I venture forward, pull off my glove, and place my index and middle finger on the small creature writhing in the dish. The skin is squishy and cold, and I feel a spark travel up my arm.

  After a second, the slug shudders and grows rigid. Lucas peers through the lens of the microscope, riveted.

  “What's happening to it?” I edge away.

  “Curious…” His mouth gapes as he continues to monitor whatever’s happening to the tiny creature. “The scope detected the nanobot particles move from your finger onto the skin of the creature and then... burrow underneath.”

  “And then?” My stomach tenses. “It's dead, right?”

  He pushes the scope away and straightens on his stool. At least now his smug expression is gone. “Yes, the slug is dead after just a second of skin contact with you.”

  My heart sinks. I knew this would happen, but it doesn’t make it any easier. It's been a long time since I've intentionally touched something living. “I did what you wanted. Now tell me what you know about Kenmore.”

  Lucas paces the small room. “I know Kenmore. The world of nanogenetics is rather small, as you might imagine. When I studied at Space Squad University, he was a guest lecturer. He was my professor for a semester.”
/>
  “He was a professor here? How well did you know him?” My adrenaline soars. This is the first clue of any kind so far.

  Lucas readies another petri dish. “Yes, he was here. Kenmore was a brilliant man, but he wasn't warm and cuddly. He spent a lot of time by himself, not getting close to anyone. So, the answer is no, I didn't know him well.”

  “Do you know what happened to him? Where he works now?”

  Lucas ignores me. “Time for another experiment.”

  “Do you know where he is now?”

  “I thought about having you fondle a fish, then a mouse to see if the results would be replicated.” The corners of his mouth curve with malice. “But you and I both know they would all die. So, let’s cut the bullshit, to use your phrase, and skip to the best part.”

  I narrow my eyes. He’s devious. Does Reed know this side of him? Maybe sending Reed away wasn’t the best idea. “The best part?”

  He pulls a syringe from his pocket. “The part where I take a sample of your blood and then I tell you where Kenmore is.”

  “Screw you. What happened to helping me because it’s the right thing to do?” No way in hell am I handing over my blood. For all, I know, he’s a creep just like Kenmore, and he’ll use my blood to turn more people into weapons. How well does Reed know his best buddy? “What happened to helping me because Reed is counting on you?”

  “Reed specifically asked me to get your blood,” he sneers. “Said you’re our most valuable guest. Imagine what the ability to heal would mean for our space colonization efforts.”

  “Bullshit. Reed wouldn’t ask that.” I trust Reed. At least, I hoped I could.

  “How can you be so sure?” He edges closer with the needle, but I hold my ground, raising my ungloved fist. “Come near me with that needle, my fist meets your face, and you’re dead in thirty seconds. Want to try that experiment?”

  He halts. “Ida, I’m trying to help. You can be sure the sample will be held in strictest security…”

  But his words trail off because I’m already out the door and rushing back to the hotel.

  Lucas can’t be trusted. That much is obvious.

  But he’s given me a clue.